Brad Stevens made a declaration in early January about what the Celtics will be targeting as the trade deadline approaches when he said, unprompted, that they’ll be looking for a “big wing” off the bench.

“And I think that can be from within,” Stevens said. “I also think we’ll continue to monitor free agency and trades, but again, the difference in this year and maybe other years is that our tools are pretty limited from a dollars standpoint.”

As the trade deadline nears next Thursday, it’s uncertain whether Stevens will make a move to bolster his league-leading Celtics. Stevens’ public admission that he’s hoping for a big wing to emerge seemed to be something of an open challenge to his current roster. Since then, Oshae Brissett – who signed as a free agent last summer – has seen an increase in playing time with guys in and out of the lineup, and he’s responded well to his expanded opportunity.

Brissett found himself out of the rotation at the beginning of the season and didn’t play for three weeks at point. But his minutes have been up since Stevens’ call. Brissett has been a consistent energizer off the bench with his rebounding and defense, and that spark has been a difference-maker in some games.

The big question is if the Celtics can trust him enough to earn minutes in the playoffs. He was shooting just 28.6 percent from 3-point range this season entering Tuesday, and he’s had some trouble defending without fouling. In Monday’s win over the Pelicans, Brissett made some of his usual hustle and effort plays, but committed three fouls in 11 minutes.

“He’s continuing to earn trust,” C’s coach Joe Mazzula said. “I think he’s played really well. It started with the Miami game the third or fourth game of the year when he came in and changed the energy of the game. So he’s been doing that, he’s picking up matchups in our defensive system much better, and I trust him completely. So every guy we put in the game we have a level of trust in and he’s in that boat too. We went to him last night with two bigs being out and everyone on that roster I trust.”